SPRING EQUINOX
Transitioning within the seasons – SPRING
According to Ayurveda – the oldest healthcare system in the world, originating in India more than 5,000 years ago. Our most vulnerable times of year are during seasonal junctions, or the fortnight between two seasons. These seasonal junctions mirror the junctions we see play out in our lives - As one door is closing in our lives we tend to feel at our most vulnerable stepping through the new door. Nature uses her seasons to guide us on where to place our energy, signalling when it is wise to rest and reflect and when to cleanse and activate. When we align with the seasons we are in – including the seasons of our lifetime we can navigate the waters with ease, grace and the correct tools.
In the southern hemisphere we have just welcomed the spring equinox. Spring is considered one of the most important seasonal junctions. Springs arrivals summons a powerful energy. Allow, embrace and affirm the re-birth of yourself throughout this season. It is a time to take what you have sat with and reflected on in winter and move towards bringing it into action within your world. Take note of how nature all around you is nourishing new life and follow her lead. Share, manifest and create.
On a physical level it is all about cleansing the stagnation of winter and bringing into balance the heat you have cultivated within your body during winter, Otherwise, we can start to feel depressed, heavier, lethargic, dull, and the prana, the life force in our body starts to feel like it’s not circulating as much.
Spring wellness tips
01. Remove excess winter heat and lighten your body through gentle cleansing protocols that enhance digestion.
Through tuning in with the sacred rhythm of the seasons in winter we understand that in winter we may tend to bulk up a just a little bit, because instinctively we crave the warmth and the protection. We are drawn to being inside a lot, it’s darker, and we naturally are more sedentary in our lives, not expelling as much energy. Moving into spring we can assist our bodies in releasing some of this congestion, some of the excess mucus that may have built up in our system to really help expel stress and lighten and ease our body moving into the warmer seasons.
Practicing Food combining your meals optimizes digestion which truly enhances your ability to absorb and assimilate nutrients as well as eliminate your foods effectively, in turn providing cleansing benefits within your body. When we are effectively digesting our foods we are naturally in a constant state of cleansing, allowing our body to take what it needs and pass through the rest, leaving us feeling lighter and more energized.
An Ayurvedic cleanse may serve you well through this period as well to cleanse your palate for spring.
Even something as simple as warm water with a freshly squeezed lemon when you first wake up in the morning is so effective, I talk about this in my 30 days to you guide. In the morning after fasting all night as we sleep our body is in its highest state of receivership, what we take in nutritionally will receive the most absorption. Flushing your system with lemon first thing in the morning is healing for your digestive tract, it is rich in Vitamin C, minerals, and enzymes.
02. Introduce more chlorophyll rich foods
Chlorophyll is what gives plants its green pigment. During plants photosynthesis process chlorophyll present in the plant captures and absorbs the suns light and converts its energy into chemical energy for the plant to use. It oxygenates the plants cells. When we consume Chlorophyll rich foods like Kale, Spinach, parsley, broccoli, collard greens. It is also present in algae such as spirulina and it can also be supplemented we are oxygenating and purifying our blood. Increasing our energy and vitality. Tip – Chlorophyll is also great for natural deodorising your body!
03. Reduce/ remove diary
Think, milk, cheese, butter and diary in all its forms. Diary is mucous forming, if you consume dairy in your diet spring is a great time to eliminate it as you are cleansing and lightening.
04. Sweat, sweat, sweat –
Spring is a great time to increase sweating as it helps create balance within your body, detoxifies and circulate any winter stagnation you may be holding on to. Spend some time in the sauna or get out outside and work out in the sunshine to get a sweat on.
05. Deep breathing
By using breathwork you can guide your breath deep into your lungs and belly, helping cleanse and strengthen the lungs- a powerful elimination organ
06. Practice Ayurvedic tongue scraping in the morning to reduce any excess toxic build up as soon as you wake up.
Throughout the night while we sleep our bodies go into a natural state of detoxification and elimination. When we rise in the morning, we find we usually need to use the bathroom, we may experience some body odour and have a coating on our tongue. This is our body excreting toxins through all it’s different outlets. Many systems of medicine use the tongue as an indicator of your internal state of health, that’s why so often different doctors will ask you to stick out your tongue so they can perform a tongue diagnosis. Different parts of the tongue are related to the lungs, the heart, the stomach, the liver, the spleen, the kidneys, and the intestines. By using a tongue scraper, you can gently remove toxins that have built up through the night on your tongue as well as simultaneously stimulate, massages and cleanse the associated organs and deep tissues link to the tongue. Instead of redigesting them back into your system.
07. Journal to create space within the mind to call in creative new ideas
By practising journaling, we get the opportunity to release emotional blockages, onto our page. Journaling provides with a space where we can filter through our thoughts and feelings, both the dark and the light ones. This practice is incredibly insightful; it allows you to gain a deeper insight and greater awareness of yourself.
The feeling of physically putting pen to paper when we journal ignites our soul connection; it evokes our most inner thoughts and dreams in a way that is lost when we type them into our phones and onto a screen. There is a powerful feeling of creation when see and feel ourselves writing our thoughts into existence onto a blank page.
08. Herbs that enhance elimination – Dandelion, Nettle, Fennel & Coriander
Sipping on these herbs in the form of a tea or incorporating them into your cooking will assist you in drawing out and eliminating toxins through your system.